Moe Norman and the Separated-Hand Grip

Moe Norman played with the grip in the lifeline of his right hand with an overlapping grip until December 1992.

My first meeting with Moe Norman was in December 1992 at the Royal Oak Resort & Golf Club in Titusville, Florida. PGA professional Ron Horton and Scott Hazledine arranged the meeting and were present during the meeting.

After and hour of explaining to Moe why his mechanics were scientifically superior to anyone who had ever played the game, Moe stated, "All my life I wondered why I was the greatest ball striker in Golf. You are the first person who could explain it to me."

We then went to the practice range and Moe hit balls for about 30 minutes. We went to lunch and Moe asked me if there was any way he could improve? I replied with you might want to consider a separated-hand grip. Moe ask, "Why?" I explained that when you use and overlapping grip, you are pushing on the hinge. When you separate your hands, you are pushing on the doorknob; that is why you would have more control and clubhead speed. When I explained the advantages of a separated-hand grip, Moe said, "Let's go hit some balls."

After about 10 shots, Moe looked up and said, "This is better." Moe played with the separated-hand grip until his death in 2004.

Jack Kuykendall
Golf's #1 Scientific Teacher